XAML Development Today, But Not From Microsoft

Paul Colton writes "My company, Xamlon, has just released its flagship product, also called Xamlon. It allows for XAML development on all supported Windows platform, from Win98 through Longhorn. We're also investigating Mono and Java as possible development targets. CNET recently wrote a story of our launch."

Comments

One Step Ahead

[ackthpt]

Lots of luck keeping up with Microsoft. Once they find they have competition they'll undoubtably come up with some stinky way to break your applications. Partners are less likely do suffer such a fate, but sometimes do anyway if Microsoft believes they need to retain all creative control.

Of course, I could also be a cynic, considering Colton sold Live Software, he may be positioning his new venture for a buyout by Microsoft.

Ob Simpsons: OK, boys, buy him out! .. I didn't get rich by writing a lot of checks.

I will ask again.

[DAldredge]

One again, how much does one of the slashvertizements cost? I have some clients that would love to buy one but I am unable to get a price from you.

Please let me know so we can do business together!

Re:I will ask again.

[AstroDrabb]

(note, you just have to 'plan' on opening it up, you don't have to actually do it)

This is exactly what this post is doing. The product is MS Windows ONLY and will stay that way. However, to get a /. posting, the slime put this in the article:

We're also investigating Mono and Java as possible development targets

Yup, and I am sure that "investigation" will turn into anything. The product only runs under MS Windows, and only works with IE. Even if they did get it to work with Mono/Java, what about the IE requirement? I cannot stand MS Windows only stuff, but MS Windows only stuff that only works on IE is bottom-of-the-barrel technology to me.

This is just some dude trying to hype his product (for free) so it gets bought out and he can cash in. Move along /. nothing interesting here.

Pretty slick...

[foistboinder]

My company, Xamlon, has just figured out a way to advertise its flagship product on Slashdot.

Re:Promotions?

[jarich]

Why post a story to Slashdot about your own product or service?

Because it is a technical product that many technically minded people would care about...

Deeper and Deeper

[mreed911]

CNET recently wrote a story of our launch

Really now... have we sunk *that* low? We're cross-referencing slashvertisements with ad-articles from other news sites with commercial interests of their own?

No matter how good XAMLon is, I (and likely other /.'ers) are much less likely to even *look* at the web site/article now... /. effect or not.

:(

Enough is enough!

[i_r_sensitive]

The fine editorial staff at /. must be asleep at the wheel.

MMD (mod me down), but really, is this news? Or even news-worthy... If I tried segueing another post into such a schmalzy plug for my product the readership would MMD into next year.

So why does the inspired editorial staff think this is worthy of it's own post?

Editorial staff, if folk want to plug their crap on /. let em do it through the existing banner ads. Make 'em pay for the privelege.

Or maybe he did pay for the privelege...

No technology exists until Microsoft invents it

[BitwizeGHC]

It is Nick Petreley's law of the computer press, but it also applies to mainstream IT acceptance. Things just don't catch on in the corporate world until Microsoft comes up with a shoddy implementation of the exact same technology.

We've had X11 around for years now, but you didn't really see network-transparent GUIs and thin-client computing with a GUI catch on until Microsoft Terminal Server came out.

Fornt Page Article Envy, eh?

[WebCowboy]

Why post a story to Slashdot about your own product or service? That is what the millions of Slashdotters around the net are for. It's hard enough for one of us to get a story posted... now we have to compete with the source?

Amen brotha! Give me distorted third and fourth hand information any day. Slashdot is going to hell in a handbasket...now they're posting articles from the sources. What's next, original news content? Man I can barely tolerate original book and movie reviews. Perish the thought...

Either you were trying to be funny (I find the statement above in particular amusing), or you aren't in the journalism business. Generally, readers prefer information from "the source". I hate to break it to you, but a large part of "journalism" is driven by press releases. Over half of the content of typical magazines and newspapers is of the nature of this article.

I can also say you're not a struggling self-employed tech professional if you think Xamlon is going about it's promotion the wrong way. This guy managed to get column inches on two huge websites for next to nothing. I'd say they've made a promotional coup!

Yes, it is a shameless plug. However it seems to me that in marketing you have to check your pride at the door and plug away. At least this poster isn't like some others and included more than just links to his own site. Beyond that, regardless of the source of the information, it is a very intriguing development. A brash upstart was able to implement behemoth Microsoft's specs before Microsoft itself does? That sure takes the wind out of Longhorn's sales if you ask me. The possibility/likelyhood of it running on Linux/MONO floors me...that would be awesome! To think that it could technically be possible to make Longhorn-compatible apps that run on Linux before Longhorn is even released...amazing.

You DO bring up a very important question though:

Doesn't that open your company up for lawsuits?

What do the license agreements attached to Microsoft's specs say about this? I remember rumblings about not being able to implement them without Microsoft's blessing, or the possibility that MS has/plans to incumber the license to such specs with restrictions forbidding their use in GPL/LGPL implementations. OTOH, Mono is a GPL/LGPL implementation of a MS spec and they have not faced legal challenges. This could be because the CLR and C# have been submitted to standards organisations. If MS is trying to maintain good will in the community and wants to make XAML an official standard then they may not be able to prevent others from implementing their specs. Does anyone out hter know the real legal situation here?

Re:Cross browser confusion

[AstroDrabb]

They say it only supports IE on windows platforms but they're looking at Mono and Linux.

The poster just said that to get this /. post approved. I RTFA and the site. This product is completely MS _ONLY_. It needs MS Visual Studio 2003 .Net, MS .Net 1.1, MS Windows and MS IE. Nothing else will work. The bum who posted this topic is just looking to get his company bought out (by getting free /. advertising), so don't think he/they will ever develop this technology further to work on non-MS stuff.